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Introduction
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First Lens
Second Lens
Third Lens
Case Study
First Lens
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Third Lens
Question Strings
Introduction
International Security
International Economics
Environmental Issue
Regional Instability

International Security Question String—Missile Defense and the ABM Treaty

In the spring of 2001, President George W. Bush committed the United States to the development of ballistic missile defense technology capable of protecting the entire United States as well as allies and troops stationed abroad against missile attack. National missile defense, however, is banned by the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), an agreement signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1972.

To gain background on this ongoing problem, listen to and read President George W. Bush's speech on missile defense, read the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, read press coverage of the issue, and watch a taped video conference on missile defense.

Prior to President Bush's missile defense speech, most U.S. allies, Russia, and China, referred to the ABM Treaty as "a cornerstone of strategic stability," and they expressed hesitancy about any plans that would call the treaty into question. Both domestic and international arms control advocates cautioned that violation of the ABM treaty could lead to an unraveling of the entire nonproliferation regime that prevents the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. In the face of this opposition, why did President Bush state, ". . . we must move beyond the constraints of the thirty-year-old ABM Treaty. This treaty does not recognize the present, or point us to the future"?

  1. The external threats challenging the United States have changed since 1972, from the massive nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in smaller states More.

  2. The U.S. domestic political and technical environment has changed since 1972—there is now widespread support for missile defense and the missile technology has greatly improved More.

 

Credits Copyright 2001 W. W. Norton & Company Copyright 2001 W. W. Norton & Company